SL Tribune Sept 2, 2011A former Utah Driver License Division employee has been charged with
issuing fraudulent drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants.The alleged scheme was uncovered when an officer in Kansas stopped a
carload of people in February of last year. While their licenses checked
out, a fingerprint check showed the names of the people were not the
names on the licenses, according to the charges. READ THE ARTICLE

The bust, about 15 miles northwest of Veyo in an area called Cove Wash, is one of the biggest ever in Utah, but officials are saying the suspects in custody is the more significant result of the bust. "We ended up making 38 arrests and we decimated the entire command and
control from California to Nevada to here in Utah," said Frank Smith
with the Drug Enforcement Administration READ THE REPORT

For more information on these Mexican farmers and to view their mug pictures go to this blog site.

WEST VALLEY CITY -- A tip from a narcotics investigation in Midvale ended with a sting operation at a West Valley market Friday. The bust netted drugs, alcohol, cash and guns.

The market in question is El Centenario Market, located at 2737 S. Redwood Road. Investigators sent in confidential informants to buy some of the illegal items that were allegedly being sold there, then moved in for the bust Friday evening.READ THE ARTICLE

Revising food-stamp rules affecting undocumented immigrants in Utah may have saved the federal government more than $2 million, an analysis by the state Department of Workforce Services (DWS) shows.

Between July and October, 2,724 households with undocumented immigrants lost benefits; 788 of those households saw a decline in financial assistance. That equals an estimated $2.1 million in cost savings, according to the analysis.READ THE TRIBUNE ARTICLE

"If you look at guys committing serious crimes in the community, they — just like you and me — they have to go to the bank, they need to cash checks, they must show ID to police at traffic stops, they've got to rent apartments to live in. Identity theft and fraudulent documents facilitate these people to be here to commit violent crimes," Wallentine said. READ THE ARTICLE

Of the those arrested, 93 face federal or state charges ranging from solicitation to commit aggravated murder and forcible sexual abuse to drug and firearms violations and re-entry after deportation. The remainder, including some who were deported once, face prosecution in immigration court for being in the country illegally READ THE ARTICLE

July 31, 2010
People’s frustration seems to be rooted in a system that simultaneously
enforces and ignores the law and discourages and incentivizes illegal
behavior. People simply want to know that if a law has been broken,
corresponding consequences are enforced consistently and government
doesn’t talk out of both sides of its mouth. READ THE ENTIRE LETTER It contains good points and has interesting information

Police have arrested 15 people in an Ogden gang sweep, including members of six street gangs, and dismantled a document-fraud lab. Lori K. Haley, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said of the 15 arrested, four were U.S. citizens and 11 were Mexican nationals. Three had criminal records and had been previously deported. READ THE ARTICLE

Washington » Three southern Utah counties have joined a partnership between local jails and federal immigration agents to find undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes and deport them.

The "Secure Communities" program runs the fingerprints of everyone booked into jail against a federal immigration database, alerting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when they find a match. READ THE ARTICLE

Police say five recent strike force drug busts resulted in 11 arrests and the seizure of some $600,000 worth of drugs in the Ogden and Salt Lake areas. Several of the people arrested were identified as illegal immigrants from Mexico. READ THE ARTICLE

Change is coming to Utah's immigration laws, Gov. Gary Herbert predicted Thursday, although he expressed reservations about the Beehive State following Arizona's model for cracking down on illegal immigrants.

"The concept and intent [of Arizona's new law] is something all Americans would support," Herbert said during his monthly KUED news conference READ THE ARTICLE

TAYLORSVILLE — Eleven people are in jail following near-simultaneous raids on two homes where authorities say illegal immigrants were manufacturing fraudulent documents and selling guns.Read the Article

SL Tribune March 29, 2010(Editor's Note, I wonder what they expected?) “Everyone is both
confused and excited,” Maizner said. “Fraud has been an issue in the
community in the past, but with the new legislation, it’s almost like
the fraud has been sanctioned or legitimized.” READ THE ARTICLE

SALT LAKE CITY — Members of a state strike force that targets illegal immigrants arrested eight people Thursday who are believed to have been involved in illegal document mills. Strike force agents have teamed up with local police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest 15 people during three major operations over the past two months. Read The Article

Feds accuse Salt Lake City law firm of helping undocumented immigrants get jobs

Among those named in a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday along with Alcala are former Border Patrol agent Carlos Manuel Vorher and Andres Lorenzo Acosta Parra, a former visa assistant at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

All are charged with various counts of conspiracy, visa fraud and encouraging or inducing undocumented aliens to reside in the United States illegally.

The indictment claims The Alcala Law Firm and its employees helped 10 companies in Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties hire ineligible foreign workers. The companies -- which may not have known they were getting bad legal advice -- included landscaping, construction, painting, roofing, steel and property-maintenance businesses. Read the Entire Article

7/15 Sen. John Greiner (Ogden Police Chief) weighs in on the issue: "County jail data, as used by the Sutherland study, has inherent problems since the usual offense in a county jail is a property crime offense and due to a lack of total bed space in the whole system the illegal offender is just as likely to be deported, if possible, rather than incarcerated for a property crime conviction. That coupled with the fact that in Mr. Butter’s testimony there may be as many as 10% of the prison Hispanic population that the prison still doesn’t know the citizenship of!

My point is this; the violent illegal offender prison numbers are going up and I personally can’t rationalize that with the fact that someone estimates the number of illegal residents, regardless of race, in our state is going up even more. The citizens of my community are very sensitive to crimes like Murder, Rape and Robbery, whatever those numbers are when they go up or a legal citizen is a victim. Since 95% of our annual property crime hasn’t really been attributed, where it may partially belong to the illegal group, the crime numbers attributable may be more egregious , but at least with SB-81 we may start getting some accurate numbers to the question of impact by illegal citizens in our criminal justice system." Full report here

7/15 Sutherland Institute " We have no doubt about the insistence of some proponents of SB 81 that endless and distant data sources would one day “prove” that, indeed, Utah is awash in a sea of brown criminals intent on subverting everything godly and virtuous. Even so, this game only proves boring . . . . So how did we obtain data for several county jails, particularly Salt Lake and Utah Counties? Simple: we asked them. We contacted the county jails and they responded with the figures we reported. Several counties, such as Salt Lake, provided documentation by fax or email. Others, such as Utah County, reported them over the phone. In other words, we did not “arrive” at our figures, we simply reported them." Full report Here

WASHINGTON (September 29, 2009) -- Despite the euphemism "undocumented,"
illegal immigrants are anything but. About half of all working illegal
aliens are on payroll tax forms, meaning they have fraudulently
identified themselves in some way. Federal authorities would often use
such document crimes to facilitate the arrest, detention, and
deportation of illegal aliens. However, a Supreme Court decision earlier
this year severely limited federal authorities' ability to charge
illegal aliens with identity theft. Read More

Even More Options for States and Localities

For state and local governments to
truly tackle their illegal immigration problems, they must take a more
aggressive approach than simply relying on ICE to do its duty and
deputize a few state or local officers each year under section 287(g).
There are many additional actions that state and local governments can
take. Critically, state and local government action should “remove or
reduce the economic incentives for unlawful presence.”42

The list below represents options for state and local government action:

• Require the use of the E-Verify system for all businesses;

• Suspend the licenses of businesses that hire unauthorized aliens;

• Require business filings and business tax returns to include an attestation from the employer that he did not employ unauthorized aliens in the past 12 months, and make it a felony to file a false attestation;

• Require state
income tax returns to include an attestation from the filers that they
did not employ unauthorized aliens in the past 12 months and make it a
felony to file a false attestation;

• Make it a felony for unauthorized aliens to work in the U.S., punishable by imprisonment and a fine;

• Make it a felony to falsely claim legal presence in the United States;

• Make it a felony and a predicate racketeering crime to smuggle aliens;

• Make it a crime to rent, lease, or sublease living space for use by unauthorized aliens;

• Expand law-enforcement arrest power to include misdemeanor violations of the INA;

• Permit the
temporary detention of individuals charged with misdemeanors, such as
traffic violations, where probable cause exists that they are
unauthorized aliens, so that federal entities can retrieve them;

• Outlaw sanctuary cities, including day-labor sites;

• Mandate the use
of the Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements system to verify
entitlement to all state and local government benefits;

• Institute a withholding tax for all
electronic funds wire transfers to foreign parties or on negotiable
bank drafts and international money orders without a valid Social
Security Number;

• Ban the use of foreign identification documents to establish identity or to obtain state identification cards unless accompanied by a U.S. document that demonstrates legal presence in the United States; and

• Restrict the use of taxpayer identification numbers for purposes not authorized by the Internal Revenue Service, including identification, unless accompanied by a U.S. document that demonstrates legal presence in the United States.43

"I appreciate the Mayor Becker's offer to meet. After two and half months, I look forward to finally having all my questions answered.

"My hope is that we will discuss the real issues. The issue is not
whether 'Hispanic residents are a valuable part of our Salt Lake City
family.' I believe that they are. The vast majority of the Hispanics are
good people as I believe is the case with all peoples and cultures
around the world. The real issue, however, is what are the true costs of
tolerating illegal immigration? Crime is certainly one since there are
consequences of not screening individuals as happens during the legal
immigration process. The issue is whether or not illegal aliens are
better for the community than legal immigrants would be if given the
opportunity? Why are we so willing to discriminate against those who
choose to follow the law? Why are the opinions of legal Hispanics that
are against illegal immigration not equally validated by Salt Lake City?

"My issue with Salt Lake City is not whether SLCPD has the right to
refuse to cross-deputize. Under SB 81, cross-deputization is clearly
optional. The issue is whether or not it is appropriate for a Police
Chief to influence public debate on SB 81 by saying that SLCPD keeps
records and they have proven something 'time and time again' when these
records do not exist. The issue is whether it appropriate for the Salt
Lake Police Chief to use taxpayer money to continually speak against
legislation that the majority of state legislators believed was
necessary and with which the vast majority of Utahns agree. The issue is
why I was given information that at the very least was misleading. Who
made the decision to include 'Unknown' in the 'Non-Hispanic' category
when under traffic citations 'Unknown' was clearly listed separately?

"The issue is where is the concern for the civil rights of working
class individuals who bear the brunt of illegal immigration? Those with
less than a high school education are now facing 15.5% unemployment. Is
tolerating illegal immigration fair to Utah’s laborers or new legal
immigrants?

"The issue is that the law was not followed when I requested
information. Salt Lake Police are aware of the five day requirement (see
Salt Tribune’s July 11 page 4 quoting a SLCPD officer.) My concern is
that the police chief can question the integrity of legislators for
months, yet city officials are disappointed when a legislator dares call
into question the integrity of being given misleading information in an
untimely manner.

"We already face radical changes in our society with crushing debt
that will lead to the loss of freedoms for our children. Is it not
important to ask how are we going to pay for illegal immigration? As a
society, we have forgotten that true compassion never comes forcibly at
someone else’s expense and illegal immigration is not a victimless
crime.

Illegal, but Not Undocumented:

Identity Theft, Document Fraud, and Illegal Employment

This Backgrounder examines illegal immigration-related document
fraud and identity theft that is committed primarily for the purpose of
employment. It debunks three common misconceptions: illegal aliens are
“undocumented;” the transgressions committed by illegal aliens to obtain
jobs are minor; and illegal-alien document fraud and identity theft are
victimless crimes. It discusses how some community leaders rationalize
these crimes, contributing to a deterioration of the respect for laws in
our nation, and presents a variety of remedies, including more
widespread electronic verification of work status (E-Verify and the
Social Security Number Verification Service) and immigrant outreach
programs to explain the ramifications and risks of document fraud and
identity theft. Read More

Click here for current violent crime and drug dealing committed by illegal aliens within the state of UtahThere is an effort by the media and law enforcement in some counties to not disclose when crime is committed by illegal aliens. They often don't even report it in the jail booking report. If you find serious crime that is not reported here please send an email to ufire2@gmail.com and put Utah Crime in the subject box.Note: Several of the links have been removed by the media.

Killed By Illegal Aliens in Utah

Last updated January 5, 2011

Note: from time to time links are taken down by the media or changed, and more research may be necessary.

From 1997 to December 31, 2010 the number killed, 34 plus 10 more in van crashes in Southern Utah while being smuggled into the country interior. Final total so far 44 There are probably more but this list has been built from media reports and jail booking reports. This list includes death from DUI, domestic violence, homicide, gang activity, and accidents. Often illegal aliens themselves are the victims. Also, starting about 2009 the media generally stopped reporting that the perpetrators were illegal.The jail booking reports also make identification more difficult.

Note: August 2012, Roman was acquitted in the murder of Deputy Fox. He was successful in blaming the dead brother of Deputy Fox. It pays to have a good lawyer.

Note:1 of the 10 was a child killed in auto/pedestrian accident

December 21st 2010Prosecutors on Tuesday charged Kenneth Lewellyn Flowers with first-degree felony murder in connection with the death of 45-year-old Cisco M. Cross.Flowers has twice been deported from the United States. In 2001, he claimed to be a U.S. Citizen at a San Diego port of entry and was detained, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice. In 2006, Flowers was again deported after being jailed on local charges, Kice said. A search of court records shows Flowers was cited in August 2006 for not having a valid license and giving false information to a police officer.

MORONI—Nov.4th 2010 An 11-year-old girl, Heather Dawn Christensen, was riding her bicycle across an unmarked cross walk, at approximately 200 North 200 West, at 8 a.m., when she was hit by a van.Moroni Police Chief Hunsaker said the driver has been charged with failure to yield and driving without a license. The 53-year-old man is a Mexican national in the U.S. illegally and will be tried and then faces deportation.

Aug. 28— Maria Nevarez-Tolentino August 28, 2010 Fox13 now reports: Salvador Landin-Castonon was arrested for allegedly shooting his ex-girlfriend to death at an apartment complex in South Salt Lake.http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12198461He was booked into the SL County Jail as being born in Mexico and as a Mexican citizen. Booking number 10045689Race “white”SO# 339300http://iml.slsheriff.org/IMLThere is no INS hold, but they don’t do that much anymore.

Deseret New June 18, 2010; Salt Lake City:While at the Gateway Inn, Oscar Reyes fought with his girlfriend, Deborah Haudley, 34, on Monday night, according to charges filed Friday in 3rd District Court. In the morning, he found her dead next to him in bed, according to the charges. Reyes is facing deportation to Mexico, and prosecutors consider him a flight risk, so they sought bail of $100,007.http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700041557/Man-charged-with-homicide-in-girlfriends-death.html

About June 25, Juan Jose Rubio-Navaro, 32, was sitting at the edge of his driveway, 545 N. New Star Drive (1785 West) Thursday morning, waiting for co-workers to pick him up, when a car drove by and a person in the vehicle opened fire, striking him several times. Jose Adrian Rodriquez-Ramirez and his roommate, 24-year-old Jose Alan Gallegos Mendoza, were booked into jail for investigation of criminal homicideName: JOSE ADRIAN RODRIGUEZ-RAMIREZ Booking #: 10032816 SO#: 337345 State ID: FBI: Citizen: MEXICO COB: MEXICO

KSL June 14, 2010KEARNS -- A 4-year-old girl died Sunday night, and police say a Kearns woman is responsible for her death. The Unified Police Department is holding 21-year-old Marina Navarro on homicide charges for the death of 4-year-old Vanessa Hart. The girl was the child of Navarro's boyfriend. Navarro has no violent criminal history, but she does have an immigration- related charge on her record.Police are searching the home in West Kearns where the incident occurred, which they say several families occupied. (Only illegal aliens could have an “immigration related charge” on their record)

KSL West Jordan April 5, 2010Benjamin Arriaga-Luna confessed to the murder Tuesday after turning himself to Salt Lake City police. At the time, he was a person of interest in the murder of 19-year-old Stephanie Williams.Williams had been shot to death. Benjamin's brother, Delfino Arriaga-Luna, was arrested for that murder.Jail documents say both brothers are in the country illegally. They also say Benjamin Arriaga-Luna is a convicted felon.

January 5, 2010: Millard County Deputy Josie Fox, (Allegedly) killed by, Miramontes Roman, He was captured Jan 6, 2010 in Beaver, Utah. Deputy Fox was making a routine traffic stop when she was gunned down without warning.http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=9238762

January 4, 2010: Norma Villalobos Guzman, 36ofOrem Utah was apparently stabbed to death by her husband Roberto Aguirre Ramirez, 27. Probably domestic violence. Mrs. Guzman was hard to identify due to stolen identity. (she had 13 different Ids.)http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705357758/Bloody-scene-described-in-Orem-slaying.htmlRamirez admitted to police that he was in the country illegally in December 2008 when he was arrested in a drug bust at his Orem apartment, court documents say.

September 4, 2009Taylorsville, Carmelo Mendoza is charged with shooting and killing Domingo Lopez last month in a mobile home park. He's also accused of shooting and injuring Lopez's wife in front of the couple's three children. Mendoza has not been captured. Police say he may be in Mexico.

2008 (2)

January 31, 2008, Spanish Fork, Albert Burns, 83 was hit and killed by illegal alien Gabriel Hernandez, who was driving without insurance after leaving his construction job at a Nebo school under construction. After posting bail, Gabriel disappeared, most likely back to Mexico.

July 6, 2008, 7 year old Maria del Carmen Menchaca was shot and killed while she played in front of her Salt Lake home by illegal alien gang member Frank Benavidez, previously deported, but never left SLC.http://voice-of-deseret.blogspot.com/2008/07/frank-benavidez-and-two-playmates.html

2007 (3)

January 10, 2007 St George, Keely Hall, 15, was raped and strangled to death by 14 year old illegal alien named Carlos, who was tried as an adult.

January 28, 2007Good Samaritan VerLee Hunt, charge nurse at Cedar City's Valley View Medical Center, was killed 28 Jan 2007 when she stopped to render aid to what looked like a highway accident and was killed by a following vehicle. Illegal alien Florencio Bernal-Michua left his pick-up when it slid and landed upside down blocking highway traffic

August 15, 2007Homicide detectives say 24-year-old Faviola was the victim of a brazen attack on August 15, 2007 at The Shop salon she operated in the Glendale community of Salt Lake City. The salon had been open for only 30 minutes, police say, when 19-year-old Miguel Mateos-Martinez ran in brandishing a silver .22-caliber handgun. Marshals arrested him on July 13, 2008, without incident in Baja California, Mexico. Illegal Alien http://voice-of-deseret.blogspot.com/2008/12/bushwhacker-salon-killer-miguel-mateos.html

January 2, 2005, West Valley, Theresa Marie Harris, 43, was shot and killed in front of her 9 and 12 year old daughters by ex-husband Hector Leiva-Fuentes.

February 19, 2005, Provo, Ferando Barraza was stabbed by Jaime Valasco, friend of his estranged wife, Laura who was also stabbed, but survived.

June 16, 2005, Salt Lake, Jacquelyn Villoto was shot by common law husband, Jairo Ortega, before he killed himself in front of a 5 year old being babysat and Jacquelyn's 3 sons aged 12-15, traumatizing all four children.

September 15, 2005, Elberta, Jorge Corona-Mora was shot and killed at an LDS dairy farm in Elberta by illegal alien Sergio Ramos-Trujillo from Mexico.

April 5, 2005Ogden Father charged with toddler's death" by Tim Gurrister . OGDEN STANDARD EXAMINER Tues 5 April 2005. B sect. page 2. 16 month old Lesly Morales was killed by her father Ernesto Flores Morales on the previous Wednesday . Later article indicated he's illegal. Sentenced Jan 06 to 5 years to life.

May 16, 2005On May 16, 2005, Diaz-Arevalo hid in the trunk of Fawson's car, which she drove to his Murray home with herAfter she drove back to her home, Diaz-Arevalo emerged from the trunk and tried to get into her car. When Fawson and her sister fought back, Diaz-Arevalo shot Fawson in the face as her son watched from the back seat. Diaz-Arevalo, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, is a gang member and drug dealer who returned to the United States after he was deported on gun charges, prosecutors said.

2004 (1)

January 9, 2004: Utah County, Business owner Joseph Crummy, 38 was shot and killed by illegal alien Jesus Hernandez of Mexico. Crummy left behind 4 children and a wife who was 9 months pregnant.

2003(1)

December 25, 2003"Killer Gets 20 years to life sentence" OGDEN STANDARD EXAMINER printed Tues 21 Sept 2004 by Tanna Barry. Jose Juan Rodriguez Valle sentenced for stabbing/beating death of Luis Moreno Martinez on Christmas Day 2003. No motive given at sentencing hearing. I'm wondering if the vic was IA too. This article included "Rodriguez Valle is an illegal immigrant from Mexico and will be deported when he is released from his prison term.

2002(1)

June 22, 2002OGDEN -- The murder suspect of Jesse Martinez, the 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a stray bullet from a gang fight nearly two blocks away, is dead, the Standard-Examiner has learned. An arrest warrant for criminal homicide was issued for Gonzalez, an undocumented alien, four months after the shooting. Police believe Gonzalez fled the Ogden area soon after the homicide, possibly even the day of the shooting. Detectives soon found out he was in Guatemala, prompting them to begin a lengthy process with the State Department to extradite Gonzalez to the United States. Wilver "Wesso" Gonzalez, 22, was killed by a gunshot in a dispute over a woman in his native Guatemala April 16, 2003

1997(2)Santiago NunezMendez, 38, along with Santiago Garciapleaded guilty in February 1999 to murder, a first-degree felony, in the shooting death during a robbery of Alfonso Duran.(Sanpete County)Santiago Nunez Mendez is slated to be paroled on Dec. 30, 2014 and Garcia is slated to be released from prison on Jan. 29, 2013 They were also implicated in the killing of a Manti resident, but there was insufficient evidence.Upon their release, Mendez and Garcia will be turned over to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement for deportation to Mexico.

I Count 34(Doesn’t include those below, in the media, but I know personally of more. Also doesn’t include the human trafficking van crashes.)

January 6, 2006(?illegal?) Daniel Johnson was killed by Alejandro and Raul Carrillo on 18 Sept 2004. SL TRIB article by Stephen Hunt on 6 Jan 2006. I have note only, no clipping or email. I need to try to check on legality. As I remember this happened in Salt Lake or WVC. . . maybe didn't make O S-E.

December 28, 2009 (there is no indication yet that Somoza is illegal) American Fork police said the body was that of 46-year-old Jesus Landin of Lehi. They said they believed he was murdered on Dec. 28.

Additional Utah deaths

On Oct. 11, 2005, a van loaded with 16 people, all but one in the U.S. illegally, rolled on U.S. 191 near Moab in Grand County, killing two. The driver was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

April 16, 2007 Rigoberto Salas-Lopez, 30, was charged with one count of transporting illegal immigrants resulting in death. Eight of the 14 people in the Chevy Suburban died after it rolled several times on U.S. 191 a few hours before dawn Monday. He was allegedly groping one of the female passengers during the accident